hi max, ok here goes:
in tokyo, you can find anything from kyushu-style tonkotsu to tokyo-style wafu shoyu… if you only eat at one ramen shop on your whole trip, you could do worse than jangara ramen, with branches in akiba, asakusa, and shibuya. but there’s also kiraku in shibuya and ganso ebisu or ebisu (in asakusa and ebisu respectively) - you’ll never look at shoyu the same way again! definitely don’t forget taishoken ikebukuro! some other hot shops are aoba-tei in nakano (also home to a huge mandarake mall if you’re an anime geek), musashi in shibuya, mist in omotesando ("high end” ramen opened by the chabuya dude) and hmm… the list goes on. here’s a few:
http://www.rameniac.com/resource/archives/C64
of course don’t forget the yokohama ramen museum, (with 8 different ramen shops representative of different ramen styles throughout japan), but also there’s the gyoza stadium in ikebukuro - seriously, great f’n gyoza from again, a multitude of top gyoza shops just hanging out in an alley way/amusement park setting.
http://www.rameniac.com/index/comments/ikebukuro_gyoza_stadium/
definitely not to pass up is a trip to tsukiji (the fish market) at the butt crack o’ dawn. walk around the fish market and marvel at the entire pacific ocean on ice, then eat an omakase sushi breakfast at sushi dai or daikichi (i think that’s what it was called) - just look for the long line of people. $30, and you’ll never look at sushi the same way again.
Roppongi in Tokyo is de-facto nampa (pickup) town in Japan for non-japanese people, but the girls can be kinda skanky, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! they’re definitely more foreigner-friendly there. it’s right near tsukiji, so you can prolly go clubbing in roppongi, pull an all nighter, then sober up with sushi haha.
kyoto is primarily temples and “traditional” japan… if you’re looking for good ramen out there, tenka-ippin is a chain from kyoto with a super thick chicken bone soup. not the greatest but worth knowing about lol.
osaka’s doutonbori is “eat street”; be sure to try out the takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and crab restaurants (with the gigantic crab).
http://www.rameniac.com/index/comments/osaka_101/
from osaka to hakata is an additional three-hour train ride one way. there used to be a GREAT ramen shop right outside the train platform at hakata station; sometimes i would go there and eat and then get right back on the shinkansen haha, but the shop is gone now. if you do make it that far south, hakata tenjin is where it’s at. the ramen at raumen stadium 2 in canal city is excellent, and all the yatai food carts come out at night.
but if you’re meeting your friend in osaka, i’d actually suggest forgoing hakata and staying in osaka longer if it meant you could hang out with him for more than a single day. you can get great (if not ultimate) hakata-style ramen at any ippudo or ichiran (with branches across the country). traveling in japan can be crazy overwhelming if it’s your first time, and if you have an “in” into the country, you’d have a lot more fun i think. at least that’s how i like to do it. just let your friend take you around to his favorite places - clubs, bars, restaurants, etc. perhaps meet his friends or his favorite ramen chefs or bartenders lol. whether they’re good or bad, i find my most rewarding experiences have always been with locals who know the area and give you more of an “insider” perspective on life there.
but then again, i often like to take vacations in a single city and sit around for 2 weeks without going anywhere else at all.
have a blast!
